A SHOPPER is left baffled by uncomfortable anti-theft measures at CVS that they say do little to stop shoplifting.
Retailers have been increasing their security strategies in recent years as more and more reports emerge about rising theft rates in stores.
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To slow the trend, stores like CVS, Walmart and Target have begun blocking even low-priced items.
Now, shoppers looking for basic products like toothpaste or shampoo are sometimes forced to locate an employee to access the products.
And many customers are fed up.
Social media is full of complaints about security measures such as receipt checking and roll cages.
For many shoppers, the new security measures make little sense.
“I don’t understand CVS’ anti-theft attempt by locking everything behind glass,” Tyler O’Neil (@thetyleroneil) wrote on social media platform X on June 30.
“Like, once an employee unlocks something for you, couldn’t you just walk away?” he asked.
Another shopper responded to O’Neil’s comment, adding that the changes have gone so far as to be strange.
“It’s embarrassing,” Angie (@strictlycowgirl) he wrote.
Some products shouldn’t be ordered directly, she said.
“Once I wanted to buy sanitary pads and I needed someone to come and unlock them,” she lamented.
GOING TO ANY STORE
This isn’t the first time a shopper has expressed frustrations about new safety measures at a national retailer.
“Honestly, I think it’s a really fun new game to walk into Walmart and see something else locked behind glass that I’m now going to buy on Amazon,” Phil (@mrburgerboy) wrote in X.
The customer claimed that Walmart must be losing money because the shopping experience is worse than it used to be.
“I must be losing a lot more money by making the experience miserable than any fake numbers from shoplifting,” he added.
Retailers said they know the new policies can be frustrating and that they would not institute them unless necessary.
ONE LAST RESORT
While CVS representatives have sounded the alarm about the dangers and rising costs of retail theft, they also say they would prefer not to use extensive anti-theft measures if they could prevent it.
“Blocking a product is a measure of last resort,” a CVS spokesperson said in an email to Los Angeles Times in April.
Anti-theft measures implemented by retailers
Retailers in the US and Canada have implemented strategies designed to combat theft. The US Sun has compiled a list of measures that have been implemented in stores.
- Lock items in cabinets.
- Safety stakes.
- Security cameras.
- Signs warning about the impact of theft.
- Receipt scanners.
- Receipt checks.
- Carts with locking technology
Other retail leaders agreed.
Locking merchandise is “an unfortunate necessity” to combat theft and violent incidents in stores, David Johnston, vice president of asset protection and retail operations at the National Retail Federation, told the LA Times.
He said retailers know the new policies may be frustrating for some customers, but there are few better solutions right now.
“Right now, the best approach in many cases is to put it under lock and key,” Johnston said.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
